Industry News

Good news for IT job seekers

The news is good for IT job seekers looking to work in the private sector. An ADP survey showed that some 204,000 jobs were created in the private sector in the month of August. That was, however, down a bit from some overly optimistic projections at the end of July.

Small businesses add many workers
ADP reported that small businesses who employed under 50 people added 78,000 jobs to the rolls during the month while larger companies of up to 500 workers added 75,000 employees. The Wall Street Journal reported that the ADP survey had companies with more than 500 staffers adding 52,000 more employees as the month wound down.

Service sector shows signs of growth
The service sector also showed some gains as the ADP report found 164,000 workers were added to payrolls during the month. Factories topped out at 23,000 positions added. Summer is a busy time for the construction industry, and the survey discovered that 15,000 jobs throughout that industry were added. If the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs growth figures for non-farm and governmental industry meets or exceeds July projections, it would be the seventh straight month we've seen 200,000 or more jobs gained.

Jobs growth has been consistent but not spectacular
A story in the New York Post acknowledged the growth increase through the summer months, and said leading economists believe that 150,000 jobs need to be created each month to absorb people new to the job market. When the BLS August numbers come out, many experts are predicting we will see a job growth for the month of about 220,000. That bodes well for the continuing economic recovery because job numbers of more than 200,000 generally indicate the unemployment rate will drop, said the Post article.

Carlos Rodriguez is the ADP president and CEO and said the numbers are a solid indicator of where things are heading.

Mark Zandi is with Moody's which helped write the report and said the numbers are part of a continuing trend.

"Steady as she goes in the job market," Zandi, told the Los Angeles Times. "Businesses continue to hire at a solid pace. Job gains are broad-based across industries and company sizes."

Job candidates looking for work should be able to find what they're looking for, and Zandi added that everyone will be looking for the BLS report to see if the steady growth rate is expected to continue.